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Iron and Wine at ‘Austin City Limits’
Iron and Wine’s music rewards sitting down, which makes it perfect for an “Austin City Limits” taping. Even when band leader, sole constant and Dripping Springs resident Sam Beam’s earliest acoustic reveries are given full-band rearrangements, the songs remain chilled out even as they gain steam.
Looking in a sweater and jacket like a hippieish political science professor, with his sister Sara on backing vocals and a crack band that could move from loping chug reminiscent of ’70s German “Krautrock” to jam band choogle reminiscent of, well, Phish, Beam moved around his career with ease Wednesday night.
He and Sara opened with a crisp, acoustic “Each Coming Night,” an early song that moved like spun gold in the crowded studio. Augmented at various points with pedal steel, electric guitars, precussion, bass, keys and all of the above, the set built in intensity.
Fan-favorite “Woman King” was a juggernaut, heaps of small sounds rubbing against a dramatic groove like gravel flying off a truck on a dirt road. “King” rolled into “Wolves” for the set’s jammiest phase; all that was missing was a hacky sack and some guy juggling Devil’s sticks.
“Upward Over the Mountain,” lo-fi and heart-rendingly spare in its original form was given an almost jaunty makeover that shouldn’t have worked nearly as well as it did. Beam returned to his acoustic duo for “Trapeze Swinger” his most Dylanish ramble. A three song encore was an unexpected bonus, but everyone was already charmed into submission.
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